Skill and Form Number: Inferences and Interpretation #1
Inferences and Interpretation
The turkey is one of the most famous birds in North America. In fact, Benjamin Franklin wanted to make the wild turkey, not the Bald Eagle, the national bird of the United States!
The turkey's popularity comes from the American people's love of eating the bird for special occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The wild turkey we usually see in photos or pictures is not the same as the domestic turkey that many Americans serve at Thanksgiving.
Domestic or tame turkeys weigh twice what a wild turkey does and are raised on farms for profit.
Most domestic turkeys are so heavy they are unable to fly.
Wild turkeys ( Meleagris gallopavo ) live in woods in parts of North America and are the largest game birds found in this part of the world. They spend their days foraging for food like acorns, seeds, small insects and wild berries. They spend their nights in low branches of trees.
adapted from http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/turkey.htm
1. What can the reader infer about domestic turkey farms?
A.
They must protect the turkeys from hunters.
B.
They are covered with acorns.
C.
They can only be located in the woods.
D.
They provide the turkeys with a lot of food.
2. What can the reader infer about Benjamin Franklin?
A.
He was a vegetarian (someone who doesn't eat meat).
B.
He had great respect for the wild turkey.
C.
He raised turkeys for profit.
D.
His favorite food was turkey sandwiches.
3. What can the reader infer about wild turkeys?
A.
They weigh more than domestic turkeys.
B.
They are able to fly.
C.
They are a danger to humans.
D.
They hurt the environment by eating acorns.
The city of Dallas, Texas, passed a curfew this year restricting the movement of minors during the day. Because people under the age of 18 are supposed to be in school during the day, the curfew is meant to affect primarily children who choose to skip school or those who decide to drop out. The chief of police explained, "The idea of the curfew came up after large jumps in the rates of theft and vandalism during the day."
Several groups in the community were in favor of the measure. Others believe it is a mistake.
Brenely Watson spoke on behalf of a group of concerned citizens. She said, "The police department has no proof that minors are responsible for the increased crime. Perhaps someone should look in a mirror if they really need someone to blame." Mrs. Watson has a 15-year-old son who has perfect attendance at school.
The city council voted in favor of the curfew. It is now law. The mayor praised the police department before and after the vote. "The chief needs us to do everything in our power to help the brave men and women of the police department," he said. "Stopping crime depends on more people than just those wearing badges."
4. Based on information in the article, the reader can infer that the city council
A.
does not require proof to pass a new law.
B.
enjoys the process of passing new laws.
C.
always agrees with the mayor before approving a new law.
D.
interviews many citizens before approving a new law.

Skill and Form Number: Inferences and Interpretation #1
5. Which of these statements is supported by the article?
A.
The mayor believes the entire community needs to help with the crime problem.
B.
The mayor does not believe that the crime problem is cause by the city's minors.
C.
The mayor believes the police are able to take care of the crime problem alone.
D.
The mayor does not believe that the police are capable of solving the crime problem.
My mother's voice screeched into the house from the yard. Up in my room, I thought a storm had come until I saw the bare windowpane with the butter-colored sun streaming in.
I ran down the wooden steps and out the front door, peered through the railings on the front porch.
My father was out by the hedges again, clipping as if some devil had possessed him, sweat streaming down his face and the shears sprouting from his giant body like antlers. For two days now, all we'd heard were the sounds of metal slicing against metal, twigs being snapped through and dropping to the ground. The crops in the field were going to be ruined, but my father didn't care. Our front yard was already adorned with an elephant, a lion, and a peacock with a spray of leaves fanning behind it. The hedge he was attacking now was fourth in the line that hemmed in our yard, blocking it from the country road that stretched all the way to town.
"Stop it!" my mother screamed, beating on his back with an umbrella. My frail, thin mother spent her days bent over in the fields and her nights bent over a Bible. "Stop that infernal clipping!"
Two days ago, he'd returned from market with a basket half full of eggs, picked up the clippers, and started going at it. Now, the slicing sounds had made their way into our dreams, and we didn't know if he'd ever stop.
I heard my sister Geraldine behind me, breathing loudly, hunkering down and pressing her face to the rails. "It's that new librarian," she whispered. "Mary Finn. The one that's making all the men crazy."
I leaned back against the steps. I knew exactly who Geraldine was talking about, of course. When
Mary Finn had arrived in Oakley earlier that summer, the men had suddenly started walking miles out of their way to pick up the classics of English literature. A constant stream of women had started coming by to visit my mother. They whispered about the new librarian's wild gypsy past. Men wouldn't be able to sleep for days after Mary Finn walked by, the old gossips said, and if her blue cat's eyes met theirs, they were liable to start writing feverish poetry late into the night or painting murals filled with flowers and beautiful women set in places they'd never seen.
"A woman like that is nothing but trouble," my mother clucked, as if she were commenting on a bad harvest. I saw my mother clutching some rosary beads, which she had started carrying around everywhere. I saw the way she began watching my father out of the corner of her eye. I think she thought the beads would ward off Mary Finn.
adapted from Rain Village by Carolyn Turgeon
6. Which sentence from the story shows that the narrator's mother is a religious woman?
A.
"A constant stream of women had started coming by to visit my mother."
B.
"I ran down the wooden steps and out the front door, peered through the railings on the front porch."
C.
"My mother's voice screeched into the house from the yard."
D.
"My frail, thin mother spent her days bent over in the fields and her nights bent over a Bible."

Skill and Form Number: Inferences and Interpretation #1
7. From the father's reaction to Mary Finn, the reader can conclude that she
A.
loves many kinds of animals.
B.
has a magical power over men.
C.
wants him to read more often.
D.
has known him for many years.
8. What most likely happened when the father went to the market two days ago?
A.
He bought a new set of hedge clippers.
B.
He fell under the spell of Mary Finn.
C.
He lost the basket of eggs he bought.
D.
He learned how to trim hedges.
The flu is mainly a respiratory disease. That means it affects the lungs and airways. The virus is inhaled and comes in contact with the cells of the upper air passages. It gets into the cells that line these passages and multiplies within them. New flu viruses are then released from the infected cells and infect the other cells. The flu may spread deep within the lungs. The virus may also be carried away in air and infect other people.
Researchers and doctors try to prevent the spread of the flu through vaccinations. Most flu vaccines consist of killed flu viruses. These vaccines offer some protection but are not as effective as scientists would like them to be. During the 1970s, new kinds of vaccines were developed and became available in some parts of the world. Scientists believe such vaccines may offer better protection than killed virus vaccines do. Other methods are also being tested to produce better vaccines. In addition to vaccines, other drugs can be used to treat or prevent certain types of flu.
Most of the deaths associated with the flu are caused by infections. When the body is fighting the flu, it is not strong enough to fight the other diseases the body comes in contact with. Doctors try to control these infections with antibiotics and other drugs. If a patient gets another infection, it can affect other areas of the body like the heart, stomach, and muscles.
9. The reader can conclude that the flu
A.
is only found in the United States.
B.
is spread by the killed flu vaccines.
C.
helps people fight other infections.
D.
can lead to serious health problems.
10. Which of the following statements about the flu is supported by the selection?
A.
Killed flu vaccines are the best vaccines to use.
B.
Sneezing and coughing can spread the flu.
C.
Taking antibiotics helps people avoid the flu.
D.
Doctors do not understand how the flu works.

Skill and Form Number: Inferences and Interpretation #1
1. D
2. B
3. B
4. A
5. A
6. D
7. B
8. B
9. D
10. B
1. Domestic turkeys are twice the size of wild turkeys. Domestic turkeys must be fed a lot of food to grow twice the size of their wild turkey relatives.
2. If Benjamin Franklin wanted to make the wild turkey the national bird of the United
States, the reader can infer that he must have had great respect for the wild turkey.
3. If wild turkeys "spend their nights in low branches of trees," the reader can infer that they must be able to fly. How else would a turkey find its way to a tree branch? They certainly wouldn't be able to climb!
4. In the article, the city council approved the new curfew, making it law. Earlier in the piece, Brenely Watson says that there is "no proof that minors are responsible for the increased crime." From these facts, the reader can guess that the city council does not need proof before approving a new law.
5. In the last paragraph, the mayor is quoted as saying, "Stopping crime depends on more people than just those wearing badges." By "those wearing badges," the mayor is speaking of the police because they wear badges. Therefore, from this statement, the reader can guess that the mayor is calling on the whole community to help with solving the crime problem.
6. The narrator shows that the mother is religious by using details in the passage. The mother spends her nights "bent over a Bible." She must read the Bible every night, which shows that she is a religious woman. Later in the story, the narrator says that her mother carries rosary beads everywhere.
7. In the story, Mary Finn seems to have a magical power over men. The men in the town do funny things—like painting and writing poetry. The father begins trimming the hedges into animal shapes, and he can't seem to stop even though he needs to work in

Skill and Form Number: Inferences and Interpretation #1 the fields. The passage says that the librarian was a gypsy, which makes the reader think she may know about magic.
8. Two days ago, the father came back from the market, picked up the hedge clippers, and began to obsessively cut the hedges. Based on the information given about Mary
Finn's power over men, it sounds like the father saw her and fell under her spell.
9. The passage says that people with the flu can develop other infections and problems with the heart, lungs, and muscles. Infections can get really bad and kill a patient. These details show the reader that the flu can lead to more serious health problems.
10. The passage says that the flu can be carried in the air and infect other people.
People get the flu by breathing in the virus. They can send the virus back into the air when exhaling. You know from experience that coughing and sneezing are ways the body forces air out. The virus can probably be carried in the air from coughing and sneezing.
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